Four-team race for king of the hill

STAFFORD — With Brooke Point High School’s defeat last weekend, the reign of the Black-Hawks at the top of the mountain in the Commonwealth District is just about over.

Now, that leaves the door open for a new team to become the league’s king of the hill.

With two weeks to go in the regular season, it’s a four-team race.

The Eagles of Colonial Forge, the group that most recently took down Brooke Point, are 7-1 overall with a 5-0 mark in the district. Riverbend — which had just one victory in 2008 — and Massaponax are both a game behind.

Sitting two lengths back is another club that was victorious just once last year. North Stafford High School beat Gar-Field Senior High School 16-12 on Sept. 5, 2008. The Wolverines beat Halifax County 46-17 on Sept. 4, 2009. In between were about 364 days, nine L’s and no W’s. After that, it’s been almost nothing but success.

And second-year head coach Joe Mangano has a simple philosophy to becoming successful.

“If you don’t run the ball well and don’t stop the run well at the high school level, I truly believe that you’re going to lose more than you’re going to win,” he said.

Both parts of the plan have been satisfied. The defense held Stafford to just 94 yards on 33 carries in a 35-7 win. Most recently, against Mountain View High School, they held them to 130 yards on 27 attempts. In that same Oct. 24 home tilt, the Wolverines rung up 44 points and 280 rushing yards. That came after a 290-yard performance versus the Indians. Junior running back Torry Hart has totaled 221 of them — to go along with three touchdowns — in the previous two contests.

“I like to go north and south,” said Hart about his running style. “I get my shoulders square and keep my legs moving at all times.”

But the ground attack is not focused on one individual. North Stafford has many capable ball carriers — including its quarterback, junior Marcus Morrast, who had 103 yards and a trip to the end zone last Friday evening.

“Our running game has been the key,” Morrast said. “Last year, we would just throw, throw, throw. We never used up much of the clock. The opponent got the ball back quickly and was able to wear our defense down. This year, we’re milking the clock. We’re running the ball effectively and we don’t give their offense as many chances to score.”

Colonial Forge doesn’t control its own destiny in the hunt for the Commonwealth crown. To claim supremacy, they would need to win out and get help. However, the Wolverines can make their case for a playoff spot in the season’s final two games.

The first of those two is against Massaponax and their unique, yet extremely effective ground game.

“They run an offense that really nobody around here runs with a pure triple-option offense,” Mangano said. “They almost look like a college team. When you take their system with their speed and talent, that can be a deadly combination.”

Mangano understands that his team’s toughest challenges are ahead of them, but so could their greatest accomplishments — and a trip to the postseason for the first time in five years.

“We’ve never been in this position before,” he said. “It’s been a whole new experience for these players. The next two weeks will tell a lot about our team. I’m anxious to see how our kids respond.”

Brian Wright is a contributing writer for the Stafford County Sun and the content coordinator for CoachesAid.Virginia. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com.